*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***
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Man of Honour
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It caught a lot of people out by the sound of it. It stuck to the car much more than expected and the final layer seemed pretty invisible.
Man of Honour
Anyone able to recommend a good product for cleaning painted exhaust tips? I have the night pack on my C63 so the exhaust tips are black instead of chrome. I don't want to use the normal products in case they scratch them or worse, strip the coating
Bissel SpotClean Pro
Soldato
So I've often wondered, can you really damage paint with poor washing techniques or is this something marketing leads us to believe?
Well my other half had her Kia Sportage go in for a service this week, and whilst her paint work isn't great (she used to get it washed at a garden centre until she met me), her car came back with some new signifying swirling as it was cleaned at the service.
Now some of that looks like it is chalky residue you get with some polishes but is isn't. It's pretty bad and can only assume they've used a long reach bristle brush or the combination of poor washing with the recent desert dust?
Well my other half had her Kia Sportage go in for a service this week, and whilst her paint work isn't great (she used to get it washed at a garden centre until she met me), her car came back with some new signifying swirling as it was cleaned at the service.
Now some of that looks like it is chalky residue you get with some polishes but is isn't. It's pretty bad and can only assume they've used a long reach bristle brush or the combination of poor washing with the recent desert dust?
Caporegime
So your black exhaust tips are currently...Black?
Man of Honour
yes, a dull black though. I want a nice shiny black 
Maybe try a wheel cleaner. Something like Bilt Hamber Auto Wheel. If it can shift brake dust without stripping the paint off wheels, then presumably it should be effective at taking soot off exhaust tips without stripping their finish.
Soldato
I’d hit them with apc and then see what they look like. If they’re dull just go over them with a cutting compound/polish and see if it takes away the dullness. It’s probably high temp paint so not sure how well it’ll react to your usual compound but should be fine.
Soldato
Either AutoSmart Tardis (think this only comes in larger cans/bottles?), or AutoGlym Intensive Tar Remover are both held in high regard.
I use Bilt Hamber cleaner fluid which does remove tar effectively, but mainly as I have it to hand to remove polish oils.
So I've often wondered, can you really damage paint with poor washing techniques or is this something marketing leads us to believe?
Well my other half had her Kia Sportage go in for a service this week, and whilst her paint work isn't great (she used to get it washed at a garden centre until she met me), her car came back with some new signifying swirling as it was cleaned at the service.
Now some of that looks like it is chalky residue you get with some polishes but is isn't. It's pretty bad and can only assume they've used a long reach bristle brush or the combination of poor washing with the recent desert dust?
My last car came back from a service like that, full of holograms.
Soldato
My C63 has chrome tips so I'm not exactly sure if care for black tips is any different. I tend to use a strong concentration APC and microfiber first. Autosol metal polish with 0000 steel wool with plenty of elbow grease! Still looking for a decent sealent for after but will tend to finish off with a detailing spray I have to hand.
Good grief! Where did it go, B&Q?!So I've often wondered, can you really damage paint with poor washing techniques or is this something marketing leads us to believe?
Well my other half had her Kia Sportage go in for a service this week, and whilst her paint work isn't great (she used to get it washed at a garden centre until she met me), her car came back with some new signifying swirling as it was cleaned at the service.
Now some of that looks like it is chalky residue you get with some polishes but is isn't. It's pretty bad and can only assume they've used a long reach bristle brush or the combination of poor washing with the recent desert dust?
WD40 does breakdown tar though lots of pro/anti posts on detailing forums about it. I'm not recommending it and it's not that much cheaper than a specific tar removal product and being a water displacer will need some extra attention to remove fully.
For the odd spot here and there if laying around it's probably fine but if you've lots of tar to remove something specific I expect will be better.
Man of Honour
Thank you! Will give the wheel cleaner a go first as I actually have some of that already, that's a good shout. If that doesn't work I'll try the others
Man of Honour
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Autofoam really impressed me on the weekend. Having dialled in the concentration and worked out that you just need a thin layer over the car it’s worked effectively and I’ve been using a lot less of the product, but it’s been difficult to assess the effectiveness on my car since it is usually pretty clean already and has good sealants on the paint.
The paint on my wife’s car on the other hand is well overdue an intensive treatment as you can feel how rough it is. Well, after autofoam and a contact wash it now feels silky smooth. I can only put that down to autofoam since it’s the only thing different to my standard wash. When it runs out I’ll try the contactless version.
The paint on my wife’s car on the other hand is well overdue an intensive treatment as you can feel how rough it is. Well, after autofoam and a contact wash it now feels silky smooth. I can only put that down to autofoam since it’s the only thing different to my standard wash. When it runs out I’ll try the contactless version.
So I've often wondered, can you really damage paint with poor washing techniques or is this something marketing leads us to believe?
Well my other half had her Kia Sportage go in for a service this week, and whilst her paint work isn't great (she used to get it washed at a garden centre until she met me), her car came back with some new signifying swirling as it was cleaned at the service.
Now some of that looks like it is chalky residue you get with some polishes but is isn't. It's pretty bad and can only assume they've used a long reach bristle brush or the combination of poor washing with the recent desert dust?
They have damaged the paint surface.
They need to rectify it.
£80 2 or 3 stage machine polish will sort it.
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